Tungsten hexachloride
chemical compound
Tungsten hexachloride is an inorganic chemical compound of tungsten and chlorine with the chemical formula WCl6. This dark violet-blue compound exists as volatile crystals under standard conditions. It is an important starting reagent in the preparation of tungsten compounds. Other examples of charge-neutral hexachlorides are rhenium(VI) chloride and molybdenum(VI) chloride. The highly volatile tungsten hexafluoride is also known.
As a d0 atom, tungsten hexachloride is diamagnetic.
Preparation and structure
Tungsten hexachloride can be prepared by chlorinating tungsten metal in a sealed tube at 600 °C:
W + 3 Cl2 → WCl6
Tungsten hexachloride exists in both blue and red polymorphs, referred to respectively as α and β. The wine-red β can be obtained by rapid cooling, whereas the blue α form is more stable at room temperature. Although these polymorphs are distinctly colored, their molecular structures are very similar. Both polymorphs feature WCl6 molecules that have octahedral geometry, in which all six W–Cl bonds are equivalent, and their length is equal to 224–226 pm.
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